The present invention relates to the field of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation devices.
Devices to facilitate mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and protect the rescuer and victim from exchange of biological fluids such as vomit and germs have been in use for many years. Many of such devices employ a one-way valve that is interposed between a mouth of a rescuer and a mouth of a victim who has stopped breathing and needs to be resuscitated to restore breathing.
Potential rescuers are sometimes hesitant to attempt resuscitation of a victim whose medical condition is unknown to the rescuer because of the possibility of infection with AIDS, tuberculosis, or other communicable diseases which can be spread through exchange of bodily fluids expelled through the victim's mouth.
Some of the existing devices are masks which cover the victim's mouth and nose, while others are much simpler but less effective. In many cases the mask devices are large and difficult to carry in a pocket or purse.
The level of technical sophistication in one-way valve structures for use in a resuscitation mask is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,730 ('730) issued Mar. 14, 1989 to A. J. J. Milano. The '730 patent teaches the use of a pair of one-way valves in a cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) mask. One of the valves allows a rescuer's breath to pass into the nose and mouth of a victim while preventing the victim's exhaled breath from entering the rescuer's mouth. A second one-way valve member is provided to permit the rescuer's breath to pass therethrough and into an inflatable bladder while simultaneously preventing the air in the bladder from escaping. The inflatable bladder creates a resilient sealing means between a face of a victim and the resuscitation mask.
Israel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,745, discloses a self-inflatable rescue mask which is disposable and packaged in a carrying case which is shaped to receive the mask in flattened and folded shape and sealed with closure means. The inflated mask is shaped to enclose and seal the mouth and nose of the victim.
Reist-Kündig et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,387, discloses a mouth closure for providing artificial respiration which comprises a deformable elliptical plate whose periphery is surrounded by a tube, wherein the mouth closure is placed in the dentilabial cavity of the victim's upper and lower jaws and thereby seals the cavity from the outside.
Baldwin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,288, discloses a resuscitation device having a pair of valves to prevent exhaled breath from reaching the mouth of the rescuer.
Webster, U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,085, discloses a resuscitation device with an inflatable cone-shaped mask at one end of a hollow housing and a mouthpiece attached to the other end, designed to prevent the exchange of bodily fluids between the rescuer and the victim.
Loescher, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,568, discloses an isolation valve which includes a housing having a fixed inlet pipe and a bacteria filter, preferably 3M “Filtrete” type G synthetic air filter.
Although there have been many different types of artificial respiration devices used or proposed in the prior art, none have been a simple, disposable, easily foldable and compact device which effectively seals the mouth of the victim to allow efficient transfer of breath from the rescuer to the victim while at the same time preventing the communication of fluids from or to the rescuer.
It is an object of the present invention to provide such a device and a corresponding method of using such a device.